BERLIN (AP) — A herd of dairy cows nearly lifted the roof off their barn in central Germany when methane released by the animals caused an explosion.

Police in Hesse state said in a statement that a static electric charge apparently triggered the detonation, and a spurt of flame, on Monday at a farm in Rasdorf. The roof was slightly damaged and one cow suffered light burns. No people were hurt.

Police say 90 cows are kept in the shed and it wasn’t clear why quantities of methane had built up. Bovine belching and flatulence releases large quantities of the gas.

While looking for Mick having a gas gas gas on youtube I stumbled across this gem, apparently a new commercial for Audi. I hope they weren’t saving it for the SuperBowl or something because if so I’ve blown their surprise.

HAHAHAHA I keep snorting, laughing, thinking about the cows blowing up the barn and escaping, a Doberhuahua rounding them back up.

Another friend shared this, which is awesome – a bunch of people getting together, encouraging each other, doing it for free, and … well placed F-BOMBS! Perfection, and many thanks to “Steve”. Watch it now and you’ll want to pull on your longies and woolies and head out at once.

Have fun with that, I’m not going to, I’m only starting mug #2 and you both know the world is not safe until I’m close to the bottom of mug #3. This morning I started out with Chocolate Glazed Donut and topped the remains with Creme Brulee so I have a chocolatey-carameley concoction fueling me for a visit with Killer in a bit. Gonna jog on the treadmill, first run since Friday. I think I’m nearly done coughing up body parts. This is the cold that never ends. It goes on and on my friends…

And on a quick visit to my frenemy, weather.com, I am dryly informed that in Memfo Tennessee is it currently 4 degrees. It feels like 4 degrees, and it is very cold.

4°F

FEELS LIKE 4°

Clear

Very cold.

With this I leave you my friends. Stay warm wherever you are, and be sure to ventilate your barn properly.

*shhhh* if we’re all very very very quiet maybe Monday will not see us.

Try to get small and inconsequential.

Today’s weather update, Boy and Girl, is currently 29 degrees and our high will be …. wait for it … 29 degrees with winds of 19-23 mph. Maybe if I stand at one end of the yard with an open bag the leaves will blow themselves into it? And I’m on the fence about a run. I don’t have any training plans right now so there’s less motivation if the weather isn’t nice. Maybe later today I will dig around the back of my closet and see if I can find my Mojo. It’s got to be around here somewhere, and it’s apparently not in the three cups of coffee I’ve brewed at The Shrine so far today.

Meanwhile, one of my progeny is currently walking to the train in Chitown where it’s zero with a -18 feel like temp. So there, whiny Terri.

Actually it’s pretty out – a ridge of grey clouds edged with white are lined catty-corner along the sky behind the trees across the cove. The trees are tinged golden from the sun rising behind me, all the colors warm and soft.

While I was outside to the get the picture a robin landed on the fence, watching me.

As a girl I read The Secret Garden at least a half dozen times. Every week we had Library time. It was my favorite part of the week. Once I was in the school library looking for the book, but I could not remember the title (I guess it was a Secret?). I knew about where it was located on the shelves so I just started at one end and looked at every book spine, knowing I’d recognize it when I saw it. The librarian came over, “Do you need some help?”

“Yes, I’m looking for a book.”

“Do you know which book?”

“Yes.”

“What’s the title?”

“I don’t know.”

I could sense her skepticism, but just then I saw it.

“There it is!” I grabbed the book from the shelf.

I could feel her watch me walking off, and I may have only been in 3rd grade, but I know suspicion when it runs up my spine.

Anyway, if you have read the Secret Garden you know that a robin is one of the main characters. I’ve loved robins ever since, although I don’t remember seeing one until I was an adult. Surely there are robins in Phoenix? Oh, well.

So today’s start was auspicious with the appearance of the robin when I randomly went outside to take a picture of the horizon for this rambling, nonsensical post.

I woke this morning still tired, still coughing, still sniffing, and still not running on day 12 of the Cold from Hell. I did a bit on the treadmill at Killer’s on Friday but had to keep slowing so I could hack up more of my insides. We have a huge yard for which I’m extremely grateful, the beauty, the trees, birds and squirrels, very blessed. We spent two hours yesterday raking leaves and got about 1/20th of the yard done. Today is the last nice weather for most of the week and I will not be doing yardwork as I have to work. I’m going to be doing the damn leaves until May. Hubs’ idea of doing leaves is vacuuming up the stuff in the flat part of the yard with the mower and filling a garbage can weekly, sometimes getting a couple extra bags filled if he has enough time. His spare time weekly totals about 3 hours so you can see that at that rate we’ll be done doing the 2013 leaves in about 2018. I’m watching my body age and change and I don’t like it. I don’t like how clothes fit differently. I don’t like that everything is sliding slowly, inexorably, toward the floor. I don’t like feeling even more tired even more often. Hubs asks, why are you so tired? I DON’T KNOW. The cat is peeing in that spot on the carpet again which indicates the UTI is no better or she’s stuck in a bad habit. Since she’s also bogarting the floor heating vent I’m going with the UTI. I don’t know what else to do. I keep a huge towel in the spot, the only compromise I can come up with unless I throw the cat away, which some people might suggest but it kinda goes against my personal theology to throw away living things which fail to meet my expectations, although I will indulge my occasional and extremely poor coping mechanism of throwing several very loud F bombs around the house. This probably only serves to create more peeing when I scare the cat with my screaming so there’s another fail.

I am stuck in a funk.

The idea of coaxing anyone out of a funk by showing them evidence that someone else definitely has it worse is, to me, ineffective. If you are having a bad day, you’re having a bad day. Who knows what else is going on in someone’s life? Who knows what else is going on my life? (Right, not a very good personal argument since I spew my life all over the interworldweb like I currently spew coughs, but we’ll assume a lot of people do have things in their lives about which we are not aware.)

This article is copyrighted by the Commercial Appeal and I’ve linked the article in the quote above.

I’m not much of one to ask people to donate money, however, if you are currently considering supporting St. Jude, please consider doing so through Kevin’s page.

Meanwhile I’m going to get things ready for today’s race. I’m going to wear my Adidas to the race and I’m going to get a little jog in this sunny day while the runners are out on the course. If I have to stop and cough a bunch of crap out, tough sh*t. When I get home I will rake leaves for whatever daylight remains. The cat can pee on the towel, we’ll all live through it, and I will once again move the towel 6 inches closer to the litter box every couple days until she’s back using the box; it will probably cost about a minute of my life.

11:15am update: Heading to the race site. When I first looked at Kevin’s page he was 12% of goal; he is currently 16% of goal!

This is the Blahg that never ends.♬
It just goes on and on my friends.
Some people started reading it not knowing what it was,
And they’ll continue reading it forever just because . . .
This is the Blahg that never ends.♬
Yes, it goes on and on my friends.
Some people started reading it not knowing what it was,
And they’ll continue reading it forever just because . . .

GOOD MORNING! HAPPY FRIDAY! IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD!

I found this online, it’s a t-shirt, in case you’re feeling nostalgic.

4°F FEELS LIKE 4° Very cold. (intones weather.com)

And take that, weather.com.

(Before you have a heart attack, Mr. Rogers is playing “Where is Thumkin”. This made my day even though it took several minutes to quit choking from laughter when I first saw it. I love Mr. R, gentle soul.)

Anyway, I’m so happy, I can’t stand it. Brain decided to make use of visiting rights and showed up for a while yesterday, struggling to make itself heard thought the 87 pounds of snot muffling everything in my head. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for Brain. I think of Indiana Jones fighting his way through many adventures.

Brain 1 frequently feels this way. “OMG don’t look,” it thinks, watching me come up with yet another great idea, like going for a run in four degree weather, with only half of my lungs showing up for work today and the aforementioned snot.

“HEY, let’s have some more coffee!” Brain suggests to distract me, so off I trot to the Shrine, happily perusing my little stash, rubbing my hands together, chortling.

So instead of running outside I got to Killer’s early and did a couple miles on the treadmill (Mocca Chocolata Ya Ya Creole Lady Marmalade circling, stuck in Brain). Then Killer lived up to her name, trying to kill me and my co-training crazy friend whom I shall refer to as … um, “Brenda”, who is looney enough to also enjoy working out with Killer. “Brenda” was a bit put out when Killer informed us that I would not have to do the 2nd plank and would do some upper body instead. I stuck my thumbs in my ears and waggled my fingers behind Killer’s back Nanner Nanner! “Brenda” stuck her tongue out at me. Killer showed me what I would be doing. “Brenda” very childishly stuck her thumbs her ears and waggled her fingers. “HA! You thought the plank was tough!”

Brat. Dammit. And then Killer made me do another plank anyway.

Now I’ve had a lovely lunch, the sun is shining, we have a heat wave of 25 degrees (feel like temp 20) and weather.com did not have any additional comments at this time.

So – that’s it. You just wasted 5 minutes you’ll never get back, perhaps four if you read fast. GET BACK TO WORK.

This is the Blahg that never ends.♬
It just goes on and on my friends.
Some people started reading it not knowing what it was,
And they’ll continue reading it forever just because . . .
This is the Blahg that never ends.♬
Yes, it goes on and on my friend.
Some people started reading it not knowing what it was,
And they’ll continue reading it forever just because . . .

I woke yesterday to a very nice surprise when Ashley at http://onedreamymess.wordpress.com/ nominated me for the LEIBSTER award! Ashley lists coffee first in her list of likes, and also mentions she likes a little hot chocolate with her marshmallows, so you know immediately she is an intelligent person with extremely good taste. So saying, WTH is the girl doing following my blog??

Liebster award ~ this award is meant to generate attention for new or upcoming bloggers.

The rules are:

Acknowledge the nominating blogger

Answer 11 questions the nominating blogger has created for you

11 random facts about yourself

List some bloggers with fewer than 200 followers that you really feel deserve a little blogging love!

Let all of the bloggers know you’ve nominated them. You cannot nominate the blogger that nominated you!

Post 11 questions for the bloggers you’ve nominated to answer.

Here are Ashley’s questions to me:

1. What began your love for fitness & health?
I’ve been ‘running’ since my twenties because it seemed the right thing to do, stay healthy, burn a few calories; I would just set out on the street in front of my house and run through the neighborhood, no training, no fuel, no plans. Ten or twelve years ago I got involved in a running group that helped me train for my first half marathon and then my first full. I learned about warm up/cool down, pacing, fueling and felt like a “real” runner for the first time. But my real love for running, fitness and most of all runners and the running community began when I luckily fell into my job as administrative secretary for Memphis Runner’s Track Club. Interacting with all these awesome people has convinced me that healthy, fit people are happier people. Or, crazy.

2. What is my favorite workout?
Right now going for a run pain-free would be heaven. I have been able run three times since November when I broke my foot, so I can’t complain. I will probably run today, I just can’t decide to do it outside, with a ‘feel like’ temp of 11 degrees and the remains of a cold in my chest, or if I will hit the dreadmill. Or just drink more coffee, which is sounding good right now. I think my favorite workout is long training runs with friends. 18-20 miles running on the Greenway or out in the county on back roads, slow and easy, talking about everything, seeing the trees, old abandoned houses with green growing through the roof, counting road kill, trying to find a place for an emergency pit stop. And then, days later, meeting for lunch and crying laughing as we recount the escapades to our friends while the rest of the diners watch us warily.

3. What is my favorite indulgence for dessert?
Oddly as I get older my desire for sweets has waned. But I’ll happily take you out if you bogart the crème brulee.

4. If I won a trip to go anywhere, regardless of cost, where would it be?
The British Isles and Europe by rail, with a hike along the Pennine Way. Definitely a big dream of mine!

5. Favorite outdoor activity?
Other than running, sitting poolside with some friends and a very cold beer.

6. If I could have lunch with any famous person alive or passed away who would it be?
Maybe Robin Williams except I’m sure I couldn’t keep up with him. I’d probably have to skip eating food because the insane laughter would not aid digestion. If it were anyone, famous or not, I would choose my brother.

8. President for a whole year or Superman for one day?
Since I would not be President willingly for even a nanosecond, I guess it has to be Superman. Can I pick Wonder Woman instead?

9. Where do I shop for workout clothes?
Local running stores, sometimes online if I can’t find what I need.

10. Morning person or night owl?
Morning person – but only after I have coffee in my hand. Even the dog waits.

11. If it were possible to travel through time, would I speed up to the future or flash back to the past?
Totally flash back. I have a shitton of stuff I’d like to give myself a heads-up about.

Eleven Random Facts About Me:

1. I was born in Winslow, Arizona. Not on the corner, though.
2. I have a runner girl tattoo. I love her.
3. I have a really hard time coming up with eleven random facts about myself.
4. Because, mostly, everything about me is already all over FB and blogging.
5. I have eleven toes.
6. I was a complete, total, utter nerd in school.
7. But not a smart nerd. Just a nerd nerd.
8. Somehow, at some time in my life, I was lucky enough to realize it really just doesn’t matter.
9. Favorite indulgence food is … Taco Bell. *hanging head* I know…
10. I’ve hiked to the river and back at the Grand Canyon in a day, a couple times.
11. One of these random facts is a lie.

My Nominations:

http://runswimbikediversify.wordpress.com/ Becky, a comrade in arms, a certifiable #crazynutjobrunner, is also a triathlete who has already completed a Half Ironman and is now training for her second because she just can’t get enough of the RDA of crazy.

http://elingsjourney.blogspot.com/ Eling, like Becky, is another one who can’t get enough and is not ‘just’ a runner but a triathlete. Like Becky and Julianne she is on a continuing journey toward fitness and if you need a bit of motivation she’s one to turn to!

http://middleagedwomanontherun.com/ Julianne is not a true newbie, she’s been around for a bit but I’m adding her as she is still striving to do her first full since St. Jude was cancelled this past December. Are you struggling? Need a lift? Check her out!

http://chocolatemedals.com/ Ashley is a runner on a great healthy journey, newlywed and living in Colorado. Through her I can live vicariously in Colorado and see awesome pics of food that I drool over.

http://smallislandrunner.wordpress.com/ I don’t know how I got lucky enough to stumble across this blog, or maybe she found mine first (too bad for her but a stroke of luck for me), but this blog is a BLAST – Ella is a novice runner who is living in Jersey (and I don’t mean New Jersey) for a year. I am vicariously living on this beautiful little island through her as she works toward her goal of running every road on the isle.

Nominees – here are your questions:

1. Why did you decide to start blogging?
2. If you could run any race in the world without worrying about cost, which would you choose?
3. How did you get started running (or your fitness choice)?
4. What is the funniest/weirdest thing you’ve seen/had happen on a run?
5. Favorite post-workout indulgence?
6. Music or purist, and if music, what’s your favorite?
7. Dreadmill or 25 degrees/10 degree feel-like temp? Dreadmill or 98 degrees and 98% humidity?
8. Go-to Mantra when it gets tough?
9. Morning or evening workout and why?
10. Best pre-run/workout fuel?
11. Favorite cross-training?

Weather.com and DirecTV got divorced, did you know? If you ever visit weather.com you’d know, it’s still whining about it like a 16-year-old getting dumped for the first time (not to negate that experience, it feels like your heart got torn out sans meds) but it’s a TV STATION doing BUSINESS, not a teenage girl. But, then, and as you know, I don’t like weather.com.

Well, Terri, you continue to visit weather.com, don’t you?

Why, yes, I do. And I’m irritated every single time. Partly because it’s still the best site I can find for quick weather info. Details, go to NOAA.gov, but a quick and dirty look, it’s still the fall back. Plus, just when I’m about to try dating someone else – again – weather.com hits my funny bone which is a quick way to my heart. This morning w.c announces dryly:

16°F
FEELS LIKE 16°Much colder than yesterday.

HAHAHAHA! No kidding? OK then, I didn’t know. Sixteen is more than 28, at least in weather world.

Since I’m still feeling rather blah and it appears my batteries are mostly run out I’m not planning to run today. I’m not sad that I can’t run in this cold, since it’s much colder than yesterday but it does bug me I’m losing bragging rights. Yeah, I ran when it was 16, no big. I’m tough, that’s how I roll. I ran it in shorts and a jog bra. Barefoot. Because that’s how I roll, too.

I’m lying.

No one is ever going to see me running in just shorts and a jog bra. If the house is on fire I will wait inside. No, really, I’m fine, thank you Mr. Fireman, can I borrow your shirt?

Nope, the Cold from Hell lingers like a creepy ex-boyfriend determined that deep in my heart I really do want him to take me to Prom. Yes, you’re taking my breath away but not quite the way you’re hoping.

This morning I saw Lucia, who does Structural Integration. She is even tinier than Killer, which should be impossible for an adult but there you go, and she’s just as nice as Killer too. You wouldn’t think about 100 pounds of female could do much damage but she’s like a Ninja trained in all the secret spots that will take you DOWN. Last week was very interesting. I had some muscles that were being stubborn (where the hell they got that from, I don’t know) and about half way through she said, “you may need to take nap today.”

OK. That’s sort of like a doctor’s order, right? I’m going to have to take a nap today. I was instructed to. It’s legal. Nanner nanner.

Turns out it wasn’t optional. I got home and thought I was getting the flu even though I actually got the flu shot this year.

I’m kidding. I get the shot every year.

(No I don’t, I just put that there in case Hubs ever reads my blog.) (He asks me about 13 times every fall did I get a flu shot.) (It’s really sweet of him, too.)

(Words in parentheses are invisible, right?)

I didn’t feel so good. Next thing I knew, I was on the bed in a t-shirt, sweat-shirt, bathrobe and sweatpants, shivering like Murphy at the vet’s. Good thing the house didn’t decide to combust because I was going nowhere quickly. My legs were like Jello at a Mississippi picnic in July.

An hour or so later when I was able to stand (albeit shakily) I chugged about 72 ounces of water while swallowing down one or two of every vitamin I could find in the house. Then I looked up Toxins. Wow, you do learn something new every day. And now I understand why we are so very sore the day after a marathon or intense training. Fascinating.

Today I asked Lucia if that had anything to do with Beelzebub coming to torment me; she thought probably so. She worked me over like a pro boxer again and sent me home, taller and straighter. She said she did not release any demons today. So far I’m feeling good. I’m even tempted to go for a little run.

Having birthed the spawn of satan into the world on a napalm flow of snot for the better part of the day yesterday and later coughing out the rest of his minions through my lungs I’m a bit worn out today; copious amounts of coffee are just as spitting in the wind. On the plus side I got an abs of steel workout without buying a DVD. Another notch on the plus side: I can see again. Thank God it appears Vicks Vaporub is not fatal to eyeballs. Also it is, indeed, possible to “Cry Me A River”.

That’s where I went wrong, once again flying high on getting a run Thursday and immediately taking a chance, making more plans (this run is good! I’m back! OK, Friday I’ll do this and Saturday I’ll do that and Sunday it will be …) only to crash to earth Friday morning, victim of human frailty and satan-worshiping germs as the Virus From Hell wrapped me in its evil embrace. BWAAAHAHAHAHA it chortled as I choked, lungs aflame. GO AHEAD! MAKE PLANS! BWAAHAHAHAHAHA!

Yesterday when I woke it appeared I was (mostly) done coughing and, unaware a lava flow was busy heating up inside my head, I failed to realize why I was feeling down, instead blaming it on the fact that my friends were lining up at the Swampstomper start and I wasn’t. A couple hours later I realized as far as Swampstomper went it’s just as well I broke my foot unless the karma gods, if I hadn’t broken my foot, would have spared me this cold; either way, not running because of the foot or trying to run with a healthy foot but this cold, it’s obvious that race was not meant for me this year. Never trust the karma gods.

It’s disheartening to realize, as I do occasionally before I can force myself to forget again, that the first day I ran pain-free since July 2012 was the same day I broke my foot. Those first two miles – my brain singing the Hallelujah Chorus (which you need to watch right now because I just watched it again and it’s going to be a few minutes before I can type much since I’m crying coughing choking laughing, so you have a break) – those first two miles, pain-free! I floated, gloating, certain I’d found the cure, that running Nirvana is now MINE MINE MINE, clutching the joy … and then I took one more step, too greedy – but those two miles – they were heaven.

It’s human nature, I suppose, to continue to think surely this is the day, certainly it will be like it used to be or even better.

If this thought is based upon some provable fact, yay, you’re right. “Today will be sunny. See? There’s the sun, shining.” Additionally the odds are you do not live in Memphis.

If this is based on cheerful hope, you are an optimist. “Today will be sunny, ” you think, living in Memphis, you foolish fool.

If this is based on a belief in some type of cosmic lottery which says at some point it will be time to ease up on any given person, it’s idiocy. “It’s rained for 24 hours, surely the sun will shine in Memphis today.”

Although I’m not really sure what the cats did to piss off Karma I think I should check the closet. I bet they pooped in my shoes.

Sorry there, Boy and Girl, deepest heartfelt apologies and all that blather. Kinda lost focus and direction for a while.

Wait. Let’s look at this another way. I refocused and recommitted. Rather than New Year “Resolutions” I prefer the term New Year “Recommitments”. Like many, as the year wanes I look back: what I hoped to achieve, how I went about it, were the goals met? If so, how? If not, why?

I started 2013 the same way I am starting 2014 – injured. My goals for the year were a marathon and a 50K, working up to 58K spring 2014. Hubs wisely refrained from arguing with a brick wall and said nothing of the loftiness of those goals in view of the fact I’d run about three times in the past three months.

The goal should probably have been to get healthy, but I didn’t know how since I didn’t know what was wrong, I only knew pain. And I was trying to get better, I just didn’t know how. BRFF “Becky” found Dr. W who was a huge help on the journey, and I kept moving in the right direction, albeit with a few side jaunts. As I repeatedly discover, you do learn something new nearly every day. It may only be that you were wrong again, but, heck – learned, right? A year later I know that it was not a matter of doing things wrong, it was a matter of time for things to come together. I’m very hopeful that what I’ve learned and the places and people I’ve been led to are a solid part of the solution. That, and a bit more time. Thank God I’m at peace, for today, at taking a bit more time.

Two days ago I ran a total of 25 minutes easy, with walk breaks and adding 5 minute walking w/u c/d for a total of 35 minutes/3 miles – the first time I’d run outside exactly 10 weeks. I’d done a mile or two on the treadmill a couple times earlier in the week. I figured that was safest, if anything happened I wouldn’t be half a mile from home. Well, actually I would, I’d be further – at the Center – but I’d have the car, right? I can hop to the car. I’d look like an idiot, of course.

“I don’t think we should, Maude, the ‘girls’ would be flopping mightily.”

“True, Madge, true. We could get a concussion.”

So, I ran. It was glorious. Bright shiny day, cold, breezy, I ran my favorite route looking at the skeletal trees, leaves thick on the ground, the drainage stream crisply frozen on the edges. Running slowly I looked up at the beautifully twisted bare branches making sculpture against the bright sky, sharp curling grey-ish shapes against the dazzling blue. This is really why I do it. All those horrible hot days, the runs that feel like I’m slogging through mud, the days I feel like my head and body are not even connected, there is no communication, legs or lungs go on strike singly or in unison, those days are for this day, completely aware of life surrounding me, enveloping me, fully alive in this living breathing world.